Dear Lachlan Festival supporter.
It is with great disappointment that I inform you of the cancellation of the 2012 Lachlan Festival. Due to a lack of support from both the community and the Derwent Valley Council, the Lachlan Festival cannot continue.
The Lachlan Festival committee was formed as a sub-committee of the Lachlan Reserve committee. The Lachlan Reserve committee is a special committee of the Derwent Valley Council. The purpose of the Reserve committee is to administer the funds allocated to Lachlan from the councils' reserves fund which is funded from subdivision of land in the Lachlan area. The Festival committee (Lachlan Reserve sub-committee) was formed to promote use of the public space (Gleeson Park) that the reserve committee maintains and develops. Whilst the Festival committee was included under the umbrella of the Reserve committee we were covered under the Derwent Valley Councils public liability insurance.
The council has decided that the Festival has outgrown its original charter, and therefore will no longer allow the event to operate under their insurance. The Festival runs on a tiny budget and we cannot afford to both pay for our own insurance and pay for the event. Whilst we are unsure of why the council has made this decision, it is a decision they are standing by and efforts to convince them otherwise have fallen on deaf ears. I have spoken personally to the councils insurance company who explained to me that all the council had to do was approve the event as a 'council event' and authorise the committee to organise and run the event on councils behalf in order for us to remain insured. The council steadfastly refused to consider this option. I was told to approach the council for sponsorship, which may or may not be approved, and they couldn't give me an answer until the next meeting of council which is far too close to the event to find out that we're not insured. We were no longer able to run our fundraising events without insurance and therefore have no way to raise the funds to pay for our own insurance. Had all of this occurred much earlier in the year and planning process, we may have been able to overcome the setback, however the council chose to formally notify us in October which was simply too late for us. At this juncture it seems unlikely that the Festival will operate again in the near future.
The committee has worked hard over the past year to make many improvements to the running of the Festival, acquire assets, and raise the profile of the local area. Sponsorship money will be returned to sponsors, stallholder fees will be returned, and any remaining funds will be given to the Lachlan Reserve committee (Gleeson Park committee) to help fund their current projects. All non-financial assets (such as marquees etc) will be donated to the Lachlan Community Hall.
I would like to thank you for your support of the Lachlan Festival.
Yours sincerely,
Reuben Hopkins
Chairperson
It has been a while between updates, as August was a very hectic month!!! Don't forget the Festival
Bar, on tonight at the Lachlan Community Hall...
Also coming up is our AFL Grand Final event at the Lachlan Community Hall. Come and watch the Grand FInal on a huge 3.6m x 2.7m screen. The Festival Bar will be open for drinks and snacks, and we will be running a fundraiser BBQ. Doors will open at 1pm, and we'll be open until late.
The Lachlan Festival Committee is seeking motivated, energetic people to join the Festival Committee. If you are interested, please get in touch via email festival@lachlanvalley.com.au or come along to the next committeemeeting this coming Tuesday 13th September in the Lachlan Community Hall at 7pm.
The Festival is still seeking volunteers, so download a Volunteer Registration Form and register your interest. All help is valued and appreciated!
The first round of Stallholder Applications are open as are Artist and Performer Applications so download and return a form to register your interest.
For more information about the 2012 Lachlan Festival, Click Here and visit the Festival page.
PLEASE NOTE: All applications forms use ActiveX controls. When you open them, if you wish to fill out and return electronically, you may be prompted by your software to allow ActiveX content.
Volunteer Registration Forms are now available. All help is appreciated. Please register your interest by downloading the registration form here, and getting it back to us.
Stallholder Application forms as well as Artist and Performer Application forms are also availble.
PLEASE NOTE: All applications forms use ActiveX controls. When you open them, you may be prompted by your software to allow ActiveX content.
Don't forget the upcoming Festival Bar on Saturday August 13th from 6pm at the Lachlan Community Hall.
It's been a busy month in Lachlan! The Festival Bar on July 9th was a great success. The hall looked 
fantastic. The retro style tables and chairs, along with vibrant coloured lighting really made an impact. Click on the picture on the right (taken early in the night) to see how the Lachlan Hall transformed into The Festival Bar. It was great to see some new faces coming out of the wood work to attend. Don't forget to bring your friends next time.
There is now an Artist/Performer Application Form available here for download. We are looking for artists and performers of all types to be a part of the 2012 Lachlan Festival. We will also be seeking expressions of interest from people interested in volunteering for the event. Keep an eye out for the registration form which is coming soon.
The Festival would like to thank our new Silver Sponsor who has asked to remain anonymous. The committee knows who you are and your generosity is greatly appreciated.
The Lachlan Festival has a number of sponsorship packages available for Tasmanian businesses. Be a part of this exciting event and contact the Sponsorship Coordinator at festival@lachlanvalley.com.au
The next Festival Bar is on Saturday August 13th. Click here for details.
Applications are now open for stallholders for the 2012 Lachlan Festival Market. Please visit our Stallholder Info page to download your copy of the Stallholder Information and Market Rules, and an application form.
The Festival Committee is also seeking expressions of interest from any performers who would like to be a part of the Festival. Please email the Entertainment Coordinator at festival@lachlanvalley.com.au
We would like to welcome our two Bronze Sponsors, Tasmanian Stage Truck, and Lachlan Valley Food and Wine. Thank-you for supporting the 2012 Lachlan Festival.
As you have probably heard, the State Government is trying to close down a number of smaller regional schools around Tasmania. One of the schools in the firing line is Glenora District High School. To show your support for keeping this school open please add your name to this petition.
The Lachlan Hall Committee ran the annual Soup and Sandwich Day yesterday (Thursday 23rd June 2011). The day was a great success with around 100 people in attendance, with a hardworking team of 12 volunteers to make it happen. The food was great, with the impressive selection of desserts stealing the show. The Hall Committee raised approximately $1400 that will go towards maintaining and improving the venue. A big thank-you to all who attended, and we'll see you again next year.
Don't forget The Festival Bar coming up on Saturday the 9th July. All funds raised will go towards presenting the 2012 Lachlan Festival, which is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever.
The first Lachlan Festival Bar, held on Saturday 11th June, was a success. Those who attended stayed late and enjoyed the music and atmosphere, and many commented on how great the hall looked. We would like to build on the success of the first event by getting more people down for the second and third Lachlan Festival Bar events, which will be held on Saturday the 9th July and Saturday the 13th August 2011. As well as music, drinks and nibbles, there will be a lucky door prize, table-top soccer, cards (if you feel like a game) and plenty more. Come on down and bring your friends for Lachlan's very own great night out.
It’s been a while since our last update. Here’s what’s been happening in and around Lachlan (that we know about).
We attended the Autumn Festival on the Esplanade in New Norfolk on the 3rd of April. Despite the cold weather, people still came out to support the event. We used our attendance as a research opportunity for the Lachlan Festival. We want to make sure that we provide a festival that differs enough from other local events to keep it interesting. Our next Lachlan Festival meeting is on the 2nd of May, so if you have any ideas let us know before then and we’ll bring them up with the committee for consideration.
The open garden on the 24th of March got moved due to bad weather and became a ‘morning tea in the hall’ instead. Despite the move, the day was a success.
Planning is in progress for ‘The Festival Bar’. We hope that this will be a monthly event in the Lachlan Hall for locals and visitors to gather and socialise, listen to some music, and have a few drinks. The first will be held on the 11th of June, starting at 6pm. Entry for the first event will be FREE, and funds raised will be put back into more community activities. To begin with, the music will be pre-recorded, but we hope that after a few months we will have enough support from the community to warrant getting a live band.
The annual Soup & Sandwich Day will be held on the 23rd of June in the Lachlan hall.
Planning is also underway for a Lachlan Market to be held on the 27th of November.
We've had a busy week of updates. We have finally gotten the Community section of the site up and running with an Events Calendar. We have also created this Latest News section so we can keep you up to date with what is happening in the town and on the site. We have updated the Festival page, moved the contents of the old 'Home' page into an About Lachlan page and over the next few days we will be overhauling the images section, with a slightly new layout and a bunch of new photos.
We are always looking for more site content, so if you have any photos, or you own a local business, or if you are organising an event anywhere in the 7140 postcode please click the link below and get in touch.